Friday, March 30, 2007

The New Politics

When I was in High School, kids ran for student body president on a platform that usually included a pledge to put soda machines in the library, and to get permission for a smoking lounge for seniors. They campaigned in the hall between classes, passed out mimeographedflyers, and yammered away at that compulsory assembly where you also had to listen to the girl with funny glasses who was running for Secretary.

We never did get the soda machines, although we did get the smoking lounge, which gives you a clue as to how long ago this was.

The digital age, the personal computer, and the internet have -- they say -- changed the face of politics. Now, you can go over the principal's head directly to the student body, like Obama's folks did with this really clever anti-Hillary ad.

Hoquiam, Washington is a little town near the coast, about half-way between Portland, Oregon and Canada, the Great Retarded Giant to our North.